The Chernobyl disaster of 1986 is one of the most tragic events in history, and its effects are still felt to this day. Igor Pavlovets was born during the aftermath of the disaster when he was only eight years old, missing his right arm and with stunted legs. Despite all of this, Igor persevered and now lives with foster parents in Surrey, United Kingdom.
Igor’s story began when his mother, living in a village close to Chernobyl, became ill from radiation poisoning and decided to leave him at a children’s hospital in Minsk, Belarus. Since then, Igor has spent his life in institutions with an uncertain future. He is currently in the UK for the fitting of artificial limbs to replace those lost due to the world’s worst nuclear disaster.
The explosion at Chernobyl’s No. 4 reactor is rated as a seven on the scale of severity – making it one of only two catastrophes that have ever achieved such a high rating (the other being Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster). It occurred on Saturday 26 April 1986 near Pripyat City in Ukraine’s north-west region and exposed millions of people to extreme levels of radiation leading to health issues such as deformities and physical ailments that are still prevalent today amongst survivors and their families.
Since 1986, there has been much progress in recovering from this horrible event – though it may not seem so at first glance. After all, despite Chernobyl no longer operational by December 15th 2000 – a full 14 years after the accident – millions were exposed to radiation during that period due to both Soviet Union/Ukraine’s inability to afford shutting down the plant earlier as well as their less than adequate healthcare systems since then.
It is important not just for us but especially for those who went through it that we remember what happened during Chernobyl and honor its survivors by raising awareness about this tragedy – one which will always remain etched into our minds forevermore. With that thought in mind we encourage you all to watch this powerful documentary about Igor Pavlovets’ journey through adversity following the Chernobyl disaster which will be sure to make you appreciate life more than ever before!
